Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairperson and it is great to see Wicklow so well represented here. I thank Senator Crowe for reminding all of us of that fact and for raising what is an important matter. My colleague, the Minister for Justice, sends her sincere apologies and asked me to provide the Senator with this update. I will also undertake to follow up and provide the Minister, Deputy McEntee, with the transcript of this debate and to provide the Senator with the detail that he has understandably sought. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, will come back to the Senator on that issue.

As Senator Crowe is aware, one of the core principles identified by the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland is that An Garda Síochána should be structured and managed to support front-line policing. As recommended by the commission and endorsed by the Government, An Garda Síochána is currently in the process of transitioning to a new and modern operating model. The new operating model structures require a change from the existing geographic model to a new functional-focused model. Specifically, this means the operating model will result in the enlargement of Garda divisions, reducing the existing number of divisions from 28 to 19. The Senator will be aware that Galway will remain as a stand-alone Garda division.

Each of the 19 divisions will be made up of four functional areas as follows: community engagement; crime; performance assurance; and business services. Each of the functional areas will be led by a superintendent, with the exception of business services, which is led by an assistant principal. An Garda Síochána is engaged in implementing the business services functional area across all of its divisions.

The Minister, Deputy McEntee, is advised that the Galway division is among the first Garda divisions selected to fully implement and align to the operating model. All services will be managed and co-ordinated at divisional level as opposed to district level. All Garda stations will be aligned to the community engagement functional areas. Garda members and staff will continue to be geographically dispersed across the division. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, is also informed that the Galway division has already fully established the business services functional area, led by an assistant principal. This has led to a reduction in the administration activities held by operational Garda members and superintendents as recommended by the commission, which can only be good news for policing. The following community engagement functional areas have been approved for the Galway division, each of which will be headed by a superintendent: Galway city; Galway county west; and Galway county east.

Each community engagement superintendent will be responsible for: community engagement; crime prevention; incident investigation; victim support; incident response; general visibility; engagement policing; and community policing activities. The continuing phased roll-out of the new Garda operating model will greatly benefit the Garda organisation, supporting the redeployment of gardaí from non-core duties to front-line policing across the country. It will create larger divisions with more resources, increased Garda visibility in communities, a wider range of locally delivered policing services, and a strong focus on community policing. The model will also facilitate more effective streamlining of administrative processes and reduce bureaucracy. On the specifics on Galway above and beyond what I have been provided with here, we will get that information in writing for Senator Crowe.